The basic tenet of this tutorial is that “FDDI [Fiber Distributed Data Interface] is a network for today” (p. xi) while we wait for 100 Mbps Ethernet and 155 Mbps asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) to evolve. It is written for someone with a knowledge of data communications, but supplies many specific details about FDDI, does it well, and is not an explicit advertisement for Advanced Micro Devices. This tutorial does not attempt to compare the costs of various networking solutions.
A high-level manager wanting an understanding of FDDI could read only chapters 1 and 9. Chapters 2 through 8 will take other readers on a tour of frame structure, protocols, and signaling states at the bit and byte level.
Mills writes that FDDI
is mature [and] well tested for interoperability…many problems have been ironed out by its usage for over seven years. [It] has a large enough installed base, and is the most available open standard there is today, and will be for some time. FDDI has got what it takes to implement a reliable, high-speed backbone and desktop network today, without having to wait until other embryonic technologies have even got [to] the stage where they are widely available from multiple sources (pp. xi–xii).
He notes in the last chapter, in a section entitled “Cabling for Future Network Expansion,” that with careful planning and use of FDDI now, one can migrate to an ATM backbone later.
The book is divided into nine chapters:
Developments in Local Area Networking
FDDI Networks
FDDI Connections
Frame Transmission and Reception
Station and Network Initialisation
Reconfiguration and Fault Recovery
Management of FDDI Nodes
Implementations and Products
Applications
Every chapter ends with a summary. More than half of the pages contain diagrams, charts, and tables, but there are no exercises. The bibliography contains 18 books, 13 articles, 31 standards and specifications, and 4 miscellaneous items. Of these 66 items, at least 55 are dated 1990 or later.
The glossary consists of 115 acronyms and their expansions but no descriptions. For these, the reader needs to use the index to find the acronym and its use in a larger context.
Mills presents a detailed tutorial treatment of FDDI, including CDDI and TPDDI, for those investigating 100 Mbps solutions for today while waiting for ATM to mature. The book would be a useful addition to libraries.
